Putin Threatens to Target US
If Missiles Are Deployed in Europe On February 20, President Vladimir Putin warned of a “mirror like response” to U.S. missile operations during his state-of-the-nation address. He announced that Russia would not initiate confrontation, but would respond to any deployment of U.S. missiles in Europe. Vladimir Putin, via Reuters These threats come after the U.S. suspended
its participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in early February. The INF treaty bans ground-launched,
medium-range missiles that have a range
of 310 to 3,400 miles. The U.S. claimed its withdrawal from the treaty was due to Russia’s development of the Novator 9M729 missile, which violates the agreement. Putin rejected this claim shortly after, pulling Russia from the treaty as well.